Each week, 18 sides walk onto the ground with the hope of winning, and each week, a maximum of nine get to do so.
But what happens when no-one — other than football itself — wins?
In round 20 this season, Richmond and Fremantle played out a tight, thrilling game that ended with scores tied up.
Loading
After the match, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick called for the end of the draw.
“I think, to me, keep going until the next team scores,” Hardwick said.
“Look at today’s game. That would have been interesting to see that but who knows.”
Demons coach Simon Goodwin agreed.
Loading
“I like to see a result. You know, we play the game to win. I think our supporters and fans would love that as well,” he said after his side’s draw with Hawthorn last year.
But some fans don’t just tolerate the draw, they relish the sight of it. The draw is as old as the game itself, and is tightly intertwined with some of the most important moments in its history.
It’s stale, mate
It is relatively well known amongst football fans that the first game of Australian football was played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College in 1858. That’s a year before the rules of the sport had even been codified.
Less known is the result.
After three days of play, the two sides could not be separated, with each scoring a goal. The first game of football ended without a winner, the first draw in the game’s long history.
Early football was littered with draws, with the ability to move the ball difficult and the scores low as a result.
In 1869, lengthy games of football, low scores and the proliferation of draws were such a problem that the behind — a point for missing the goals — was suggested to break ties.
The behind, as it stands, might well be the most recognisable element of the sport.
Even after the introduction of the VFL in 1897, draws were far more common than they are today.
Generally, sports that are lower scoring end in ties or overtime far more often than higher scoring sports.
Many sports have also begun to eliminate the draw or tie. The NRL introduced the “golden point” extra time period in the early 2000s, allowing for the first score after full-time to win the game.
As Australian football has experienced a scoring boom over the decades, the relative number of draws has reduced.
As a result, fans of the truly neutral result have seen fewer draws to get excited about in recent years.
With the AFL trying to encourage more scoring in recent years, draws might become more rare as the years pass.
Oh we’re from Tie-gerland
Despite this, the players that have played in the most draws are almost entirely of the modern era.
Richmond greats Jack Riewoldt and Shane Edwards are tied for the most draws played in of any player, with both players running out not winners or losers seven times.
Part of this rise is to do with the longer careers for players, with current greats eking out more games in their careers.
While draws used to be more frequent, players often didn’t stay in the league long enough to play in a lot of them.
It might also be why Hardwick is a bit sick of the draw.
Hardwick’s Tigers have been involved in five ties, meaning he’s faced three more than any other current coach.
Having a final say
The tension and reaction to the 2010 grand final draw between St Kilda and Collingwood may have forced the AFL’s hand in changing the long tradition of grand final replays.
Magpies captain Nick Maxwell was clear with his thoughts directly after that game.
Loading
“It’s probably gonna take this for the AFL to change the rules. It’s an absolute joke,” he said.
“There’s no way it should be decided after another game.”
In 2015, the AFL officially brought in extra time for grand finals tied after 80 minutes of playing time.
It is similar in style to the NFL and NBA overtime rules, and those in play in tournament association football matches.
Before that, only two other grand finals had to be decided with a rematch the week after, in 1948 and 1977.
Extra-time rules for finals other than the decider were enacted in 1991, after the 1990 qualifying final draw between Collingwood and West Coast pushed every following game back by a week, creating a logistical nightmare that saw the finals played over five weeks instead of four.
Since then, three finals other than a grand final have been decided with added time, with North Melbourne and Hawthorn’s 1994 clash being the first match in history to see time added.
Loading
The result of these changes, of course, means drawn games that require an extra match in finals are well and truly a thing of the past.
But for now, in the regular season at least, witnessing a draw is something of a magical moment, like catching sunlight in a jar — as long as you are a neutral fan.
Source: AFL NEWS ABC
